Name: poll

Synonyms: poll, polling, polled

Type: glossary

Description:
To repeatedly check a status (such as whether the <mouse button> is down
or whether a process has completed).

(Polling is usually considered a less desirable technique than sending a
<message> when the status changes, because it takes more processing time
to repeatedly check the status and can slow down other programs on the
system.) 

References: mouse button (glossary), message (glossary)

